Ginger's Adventures II: Ginger and the Tytonic Union
by Ginger the Barn Owl
Summary: Caught and knocked out by hail in a hurricane, Ginger is found and rescued by two owls. Seeing her exceptional flight skills, they take her to The Beaks in the uncharted Owl Kingdoms, home of the once evil, but now restored Tytonic Union of Pure Ones. Accepting their job offer, she soon learns that she has a much more important role in their forces than she ever could've imagined.
1. Prologue

Dead! _The owl screamed in her head as she struggled to stay airborne among the howling wind and pouring rain._

I'm a dead owl! Barely old enough to fly and my life ends! This was a stupid idea! Darn me and my stupid ideas!

 _Ginger madly flapped her wings to keep herself from plummeting to her doom into the violent ocean waves below her. She was trapped in a hurricane, lost, confused, and on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion._  
 _It was then that the young owl felt something small hit her on the head. Looking up, she saw perhaps thousands or even millions of round white chunks of what appeared to be ice, which were rapidly getting bigger, and hurdling right towards her._

Hail!

 _Without thinking, Ginger began to perform barrel rolls and 90° banks, unknowingly dodging the falling ice with extreme skill. It was only about a matter of seconds before the hail stopped falling, and the Barn Owl opened her eyes, which had been shut tightly the whole time._

How on earth did I survive that? _she thought, completely unaware of what she had just pulled off. Deciding that it didn't matter, as long as she was still alive, she flew onward. But before she could get much further, she sensed something else above her and looked back up. But it was a split second too late. The ball of ice, larger a baseball, hit her on the top of the head just as she tipped it up. Right after feeling the sharp, intense pain, Ginger's sight began to grow dim, her consciousness beginning to slip away._

Good-bye, world. I'll miss you.

 _Those were the last words she thought before blacking out. But it wasn't the last thing she remembered. The last thing she remembered was the black shape of another bird hovering over her limp body, and feeling a set of talons grabbing her own before everything blurred into nothing._


	2. Chapter 1: Among Similar Species

"Ugh..." The young owl sat upright on a stony surface.

 _This can't be heaven, can it? Didn't I drown in the ocean?_

Her vision was a bit too blurred to make anything out, but looking around, she did see a few colors; gray, beige, brown, they were all natural and rather dull. She instantly knew she was alive, but she had no idea how, or where in the world she was.

"Ah, you're awake!" an unfamiliar voice called to her from behind. "'Bout time. We were afraid you wouldn't make it at first."

Her vision having cleared, Ginger swiveled her head around to see two huge owls entering the small stone room she was in. One was off-white with red-tipped flight and tail feathers, who had an odd double cross-like symbol on his chest the same white color. One of his eyes was green, and the other was a piercing gold. The other looked the same, only with reversed colors, and with the same eyes. Long feathery ear tufts sprouted from the tops of their heads. To Ginger, they looked absolutely terrifying.

"Hey, get away fro me!" she squawked as she quickly scrambled to her feet, spread her wings and tipped the backs of them forward to make herself look bigger and more intimidating.

"What? Scared?" the browner owl asked. His voice was calm and humored, and obviously had an English accent. "Why would you be afraid of the birds who saved your hide?"

 _Saved my hide?_

The other owl seemed to read her thoughts.

"Ah, that's right, you were already unconscious. I grabbed you by the talons right when you were about to plunge into the Atlantic." His voice was rougher than the brown owl's, but it still had the same accent.

"And I treated that nasty blow on your head so it wouldn't do you any further damage," the brown owl added.

 _These are the owls who save me from certain death?_

Ginger decided that these strange owls weren't all that bad, considering that they were the ones who saved her life. Less threatened by them, she lowered and folded her wings and stood up straight.

"Very well, then. I thank the two of you for delivering me from certain doom." She tried to sound formal.

"Well, we also couldn't possibly skip noting your flight skills, young'un," the white owl continued.

"What about them?"

"They're totally crazy!" the other owl finished. "Only a professional flyer could have pulled off what you did back there!"

"Erm...what exactly did I do?"

"The hail, silly. It was comin' down fast, and you were all over the place dodgin' them!"

"Ohhhh, that. I guess it was just instinctive movement. Nothing intentional there."

"So you're sayin' that you did all that without even trying!? Even crazier!"

The white owl stepped back up just as the brown one finished his sentence and cleared his throat.

"Ah, I just remembered, we haven't introduced ourselves yet! I'm Jutt, he's Jatt-"

"That's me!"

"And you aaaaare..."

"Um...Ginger."

These owls sure were perky.

"Well, now that we all know each other, we'd like to welcome you to our abode. How about we show you around?"

"It sound fine with me. Let's-wait..."

She looked around the small stone room that looked like a tree hollow, only with walls of rock instead of wood.

"This isn't the whole thing, is it?"

"Oh, we can assure you this is just a small spec of what we have going on here," Jatt, the brown owl with the white markings, replied. "Follow us."

Ginger followed the owls out of the room through a hollow-like opening. Her jaw dropped when she saw what was outside. She as standing before a pathway lined with scores, or even hundred of owls wearing black iron helmets that extended down their faces into protective masks. They had body structures similar to Ginger's, but had the same symbols on their chest, painted in brick red, and some were brown, others black, and others even a light tan. They continued down the path to the end, where the owls stood before a giant wooden staff with a large metal perch on top, which was embroidered with metal designs.

"Your Pureness!" Jutt called. "The young Tyto is alive and well!"

Seemingly out of nowhere, a very tall, slender owl flew to the ground in front of them and landed with utmost grace. She was a Barn Owl, like Ginger, but her feathers were unnaturally white. Her flight feathers were a bit darker, but tipped with red like Jatt and Jutt. Her's, however, was a brighter, almost blood red. The distinctive split on the top of her facial disc was also dyed a bright red, and she had piercing blue eyes with gold encircled pupils. Her appearance made her look both regal and menacing.

"So," she said calmly as she looked at Ginger, having the same English accent as the Long-Eared Owls. "You're the young Tyto Alba who flew through a hail burst in a hurricane without any trouble until the very end?"

Ginger shuddered in the owl's presence, but nodded in response despite her fear.

"You needn't tremble, my dear. I, for one, am impressed by your flight instinct."

Ginger relaxed a bit, then looked her in the eye.

"Why am I here?" she questioned.

The white owl looked back at Jatt and Jutt, nodded, then turned back to Ginger.

"We are the Tytonic Union of Pure Ones. I am Nyra, main general and queen of our organization and second in command to the Lord High Tyto, our leader and founder. We have dedicated our service to one goal: to take control of the once deteriorating Owl Kingdoms and restore them to a peaceful state that we haven't experienced in years. We were once a power hungry organization, bent on nothing but domination, and known as evil, not just to the rest of the Owl Kingdoms, but to ourselves as well. However, just a few years ago, the Great Restoration took place, an event in which more evil inhabited the Owl Kingdoms, and we opened our eyes to the danger that was facing the Kingdoms. They need a leading force. The evil must be vanquished. So far, we have been successful in eliminating crime in our beloved land, but we need all the help we can get. And you, my dear young owl, show great potential as a flyer."

"I do?"

"Indeed. In fact, we're all the way in the middle of the Pacific, and Jatt and Jutt over there went as far as to volunteer to explore the outside world for possible recruits. They happened to stumble on you while crossing the Atlantic, and decided that such potential could not possibly be wasted, so they aborted their mission and brought you all the way back here after that ice chuck did you in."

"Across the Atlantic and the Pacific, huh? Exactly how long was I in a coma?"

"About four days. They flew nonstop and at top speed the entire time."

"FOUR DAYS!?"

"Well, I've seen owls unconscious for longer than that."

There was a brief pause.

"Okay, that's good..."

"Yes. Moving on, We were wondering if you would care to put those good flight skills of yours to a good cause."

"What would you like me to do?" Ginger felt more comfortable talking to this owl now.

"Join us. Join the Union. Become one of us. You shall be rewarded and recognized for your noble deeds."

"Join you? I-I'm flattered. But I..." Ginger's voice trailed off.

"The choice is yours, Ginger."

"Well...I was going to travel the globe...but after the hail incident, I've sort of changed my mind."

"Is that a yes?"

Ginger thought for a moment. These owls certainly appreciated her flight abilities, and she'd rather not disappoint them. They seemed to be hospitable and welcoming, and she'd rather not let their efforts to make her feel at home go to waste. Plus, she was afraid of what would happen if she said no.

"Alright...I accept the offer."

The entire room of armored owls cheered.

"You've made a wise decision, young owl," Nyra told her. "Come. Follow me to the Guest Chamber...if you can."

With one powerful sweep, Nyra took to the sky and began to fly away, looking back at the young owl.

Knowing that she couldn't make a fool of herself now, Ginger began to run after her, then flapped her wings once she was sure she'd reached top speed, finally becoming airborne, and began to fly through the enclosed stony area. Nyra flew through the stone crevasses with ease, while Ginger struggled to even keep her in her line of vision.  
However, it seemed that her flight grew stronger and faster every second. The white Barn Owl grew closer, and inger felt a spark of thrill in her gizzard, and she was now only a yard behind the white queen. Her victory only lasted about a second or so, as Nyra was beginning to extend her talons toward the rocky ground. Ginger did the same, only her landing wasn't quite as smooth, and she was entirely out of breath.

"I have to admit, young'un, your flight skills are unlike any I've ever seen in any other owl. In fact, you're the first newbie to keep up with me since...well...ever."

Ginger looked up at the owl with attentive eyes, then slightly puffed out her chest feathers with pride.

"What did you say your name was again?"

Her pride faded in the queen's presence and turned to humbleness.

"Ginger...Ginger, your Majesty..."

"You needn't be so formal. Just refer to me as Nyra, as I shall be your battle tutor."

"...Yes, ma'am."

"This is where you will be staying as of now, Ginger."

She pointed to the stone hollow with her wing. Ginger stepped inside, finding the area mostly empty except for a nest in the back corner.

"Wow...it's...roomy...It's over triple the size of my old hollow."

"Now that you mention it, Ginger, what exactly urged you to leave home and cross the Atlantic?"

Ginger went blank at the thought of her raking her claws across her father's face. Shame and fear swept through her veins.

"Ginger? Did you hear me?"

Realizing she'd been staring out into space, Ginger blinked, then told Nyra her grim tale.

"I left home the day I was rescued. I had left because my brother was driving me insane...literally. I'd slashed my own father right across the face in a crazy rage."

"Dear me. I assume that as an owl from the outside world, you have not heard about battleclaws, have you?"

"What?"

"I didn't think so. Please continue."

"I didn't want to hurt anyone like that anymore, so...I left. For their own good...I wonder if they even know I'm alive..."

"I can assure you, young Ginger, if they knew where you were, they'd be proud of you."

"Yeah...I guess so."

"Well, it's dawn. I suppose it's about time we head our separate ways to roost. Sleep heavily, young Tyto. Your training begins at dusk."

Saying this, Nyra flew away and disappeared among the stone crevasses. Ginger stepped into the nest in the back of the stone hollow. It wasn't exactly soft, considering that it hadn't been lined with down, like her old nest. Oh well, at least it was big enough, and it was better than sleeping on the cold, hard floor. Not having an ounce of energy left, Ginger plopped her head over the nest and began to snore loudly.


	3. Chapter 2: First Impressions

"Ginger...Ginger?"

The owl awoke from her delicious slumber to see Nyra standing over her.

"Huh...what?" she yawned, not fully awake.

"It's time we began. The sun has slipped halfway below the horizon."

"Alright."

Wow. I usually don't get up until it's already dark outside. Oh, well. I'm at a new place, so I'll have to get used to it.

"I certainly hope you're up to training tonight. You seem tired still."

"No, no...I'm fine."

Ginger yawned again. Nyra looked at her, a bit skeptical.

"Well, if you need to conserve your energy, it'd be best to follow me to the training grounds by foot rather than by flight."

"That sounds fine to me."

"I'll fly slowly. You needn't worry about wasting time, we've got plenty of it."

Ginger nodded, followed the white owl out of the hollow and watched her take off. She walked underneath her slow wake with an embarrassing waddle towards the training test area.

* * *

...

* * *

"Can you fly up here?" Nyra questioned from the stone cliff above.

 _Not sure if I can get halfway up there._

The training grounds were on the top of a tall, steep ledge, and Ginger was standing at the very foot of it, staring up at the sloped side.

"It seems awfully high up."

"Start a dry takeoff and head straight up!"

"Forgive me for my lack in vocabulary, Nyra, but what exactly is a dry takeoff?"

Ginger felt absolutely humiliated by this situation, despite there being no owls in the area to witness it.

"Just jump and flap!"

 _Jump and flap?_

Ginger didn't think she could pull off such a stunt. She was only able to get into the air with a running start, which would look and feel awkward considering her location. The last thing she wanted to do was make a bad impression on Nyra.

 _Well, might as well give it a try. But I doubt Nyra would think very fondly of me anymore if I fail this._

The owl decided she would give the stunt her best shot. She breathed deeply through her nostrils, then out through an open beak.

I can do this.

Attempting to remain confident, Ginger bent her legs, tightly shut her eyes and spread her wings, pushed upward as hard as she was able to, then flapped her wings as hard as she had when she was among the hail storm. And he continued flapping as hard as she could, over and over again, until she hit her head on something. She opened her eyes, looked up, and saw that she had hit her head on the ceiling of the giant stone cave they were in. Ginger looked down and saw Nyra standing on the edge of the cliff, her eyes having widened a bit. Already feeling humiliated by her stupid actions, Ginger glided down towards the cliff and landed right behind the queen, who turned around and faced her immediately upon her landing.

"My..."

"Nyra, I'm so sorry, I should've-"

"Never before in my life have I seen an owl with raw abilities like yours. You haven't ceased to impress I learned of your existence."

Ginger's fear vanished upon hearing Nyra's praise, and she breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Accept this as a reward, young trainee."

Nyra dropped something at her talons. There on the rocky floor sat a freshly killed vole. Having not eaten for the longest time, Ginger jerked her head down, grabbed the furry animal and hungrily slipped it down her throat. It completely disappeared within only two seconds.

"Was that a vole!"

"I'm glad you thought well of it. You'll need the energy to show your skills on the field. But even without a meal in your gizzard, you have made quite an impression on me, young owl, albeit a good one."

"Really?"

"Trust me, Ginger. There is not a perfect owl in this world, but I'm sure that you are among those that are as close as they can get to it."


	4. Chapter 3: A Final Test

Ginger's Basic Training consisted of simple starting battle techniques and strategies; scraping claws against wood to test their raw durability, more dry takeoffs, and stretching wings and legs to help increase flexibility. It went on for about an hour, and then Nyra told the young owl to pause when she was about to start a takeoff.

"Yes, Nyra?"

"You've proven yourself worthy of soldierhood so far."

"That's good."

"You have one final assignment before I consider you ready."

"What would that be?"

"Take these."

Nyra placed a pair of rusty metal objects at Ginger's feet. They were shaped like an owl's talons, and were hollow on the inside. Ginger stared at them with interest.

"What are they?"

"They are training claws, young'un. Try them on."

Ginger slipped her talons into foot part, encased her lower legs in the metal leg casts, and pulled a string on each one, fitting them. They fit perfectly on her talons, but they were a bit heavy.

"Will these weigh me down when I fly, by any chance?"

"You'll get used to it. All of the other owls in our army had to. But you'll probably get a lighter pair than that. Those are just for this test."

"Alright...so...what's my test going to be?"

Nyra pointed with her wing at a wooden owl that had been standing in the corner while Ginger was training. There was a red line drawn across its neck, and it had a red circle around where its heart would be if it were alive. It's wings and feet were painted yellow.

"That's what we like to call a test dummy, Ginger. All you need to do is deal some serious damage to it."

"Sounds simple enough."

"Your grade will be based off of where you did the damage. You only have one go at it, though."

"Is that so?...Well...Where should I aim?"

"I'm not going to give you a direct answer, but I will say that it's better to aim for more vital areas."

"Alright...I'll give it a shot."

"Give it your best one."

Ginger performed a dry takeoff, which was hard considering the weight of the rusty battleclaws pulling her down, and took aim at the wooden statue once she was high enough above the ground. Then, she flapped her wings exceedingly hard to get herself ready for a dive, then folded them and shot downward at the target. Once she was only a foot away from it, she unfolded her wings, extended her starboard foot and with one powerful swipe, slashed her claws across the dummy's neck, severing its entire head, twisted 180, then landed right next to where it was as it flew in another direction. The head landed at Ginger's talons.

"Alright, that's an automatic A+." Nyra was impressed yet again.

"What's an A+?"

"You don't know? It's a passing grade."

"Um..."

"You know, you grade by letters in the alphabet, A, B, C..."

Ginger remained silent.

"Ohhh, that's right, you're from the outside and you...can't...read...like...we can. Now I feel stupid."

"No, no, no, no, it's gotta be my fault!"

Ginger didn't want this royal owl thinking bad of herself because of her mistakes.

"Ah, no, it's nobody's fault. Not a lot of owls can read. Mainly owls with higher authority in our land are the ones able to do so."

Ginger's white face feathers turned pink.

"Don't fret over it, it's something every owl can learn."

"If you say so."

"Anyway, you passed...better than I've ever seen any other trainee pass."

Ginger sighed with relief.

"And now that you have, it's time you meet the other trainees."

"There are others?"

"Indeed, young Ginger. And you're fit to be one of them."

"I am?"

"Yes. Leave behind those burdening metal claws and follow in my wake."

Ginger discarded the ugly battleclaws and started after Nyra, who had already started flying away.


	5. Chapter 4: Fellow Tytos

"In here, young Tyto."

Nyra had lead Ginger to an area enclosed by stone walls, but it had no ceiling, and the crescent moon and stars above them gave of a soft light. The area was dotted with well organized dummies and targets, and there were a few small patches of grass here and there. On the West Wall, where Ginger and Nyra had landed, there was another hollow-like opening. Although she hadn't peered inside yet, Ginger could hear the voices of other owls.

"Come along, Ginger, we mustn't dilly-dally."

"Yes..."

Ginger followed the queen inside. The stone hollow was so immense it might as well have been considered a cave. It was lit up by small torches lining the walls, and there was a flat, cylindrical stone smack in the middle of the area. There were four owls inside the hollow, all of them having the same heart shaped face as Ginger. One was another Tyto Alba, female, who was a lighter color than Ginger and had teal eyes. The second was yet another Tyto Alba, but a male, with copper brown feathers and deep amber eyes. His feathers seemed to form a crest on the top of his head. The other two tytos were male, but not Tyto Albas. One was a very deep brown shade with golden brown undersides and a burnt orange facial disc, and the other was mostly black and gray, with small white specs all over him, except for his facial disc, which looked like it had been covered in ashes. They were all mingling with one another, and the gray and black one was holding a dead mouse in his left foot.

"Attention!" Nyra called out.

All of them swiveled their heads toward the white Barn Owl, then swiftly lined up in front of her in a stiff, sophisticated manner.

"Trainee Owls, reporting for duty, ma'am!" the dusky gold one said curtly and attentively, with the same accent as all of the other owls Ginger had met since her arrival.

 _Do all of these owls sound like they come from England? Well, I don't really have a problem with that, but it sparks interest if you give the matter enough thought._

"At ease, young soldiers. I come not to assign tasks, but to introduce a new member of the force."

She turned her head toward Ginger.

"Step forward."

The young owl shyly headed towards them, almost tip-toeing.

"This is Ginger, our newest recruit. She was rescued in a cyclone and has decided to become one of us, considering that we saved her from certain death."

"Hey.

"How ya doin'?"

"`Sup?"

Both Ginger and the copper brown owl remained silent.

"Well, I'll leave the lot of you to chat for a bit, then we'll be getting down to business for the night. Clear?"

"Clear!" the four yelled at once.

"Then I'm off to tend to other things as of now."

Nyra flew off right after saying this.

"So," the dusky owl, who was a Grass Owl, began. "What Kingdom are you from?"

"Huh?"

"You know," the female Barn Owl joined in the conversation. "I'm from Ambala, Phillip's from Silverveil, and so on.

Ginger cocked her head in confusion.

"Oh, that's Phillip over there." She pointed at the Sooty Owl, who came over with a mouse in his beak.

"We all hatched in different Kingdoms, which one are you from?" the Grass Owl continued.

"Well...the United States, I guess, if that's what you mean."

"No!" they all exclaimed at once, wide-eyed.

"You're kidding!" Phillip, the Sooty Owl gasped, the mouse having dropped clean out of his beak. "You're from the outside!?"

"I thought that accent sounded strange," the female Barn Owl remarked. "What's it like out there?"

"Well..." Ginger was still a bit uneasy. "There are...lots of trees, I guess...and buildings, and...uh...skyscrapers."

"Lot's of human activity up there, I guess?"

"Yes...in the city at least. Do any live anywhere around here?"

She was beginning to become more comfortable speaking to these owls.

"No, this place is completely unknown to the outside world. Humans never seemed to notice us. It's almost like we're protected by something all the way out here that prevents the humans from ever discovering us, even with their advance in technology. We assume that we will remain hidden for years to come, if not forever."

"I see."

"Well, I guess we should introduce ourselves a bit more formally. I'm Uklah, the Grass Owl's Phillip, and you met Phillip. Nyra said your name was Ginger, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's good to have you here. make yourself at home, have a mouse over there on the table, feel free to chat."

Ginger nodded, headed to the stone table in the middle of the hollow, took a mouse off of it and went into a corner to eat it. She happened to stand right next to the copper owl, whom the others hadn't introduced. He also had a mouse in his claws, but he'd almost finished his.

"Hey," he said quietly.

Somewhat put off by his seemingly rude behavior earlier, Ginger pretended not to hear him, and continued eating the rodent.

"I heard you were from the outside."

This time, since the owl was actually speaking to her now, she decided to respond.

"Yes."

"Is it nice out there?"

"It is. I lived in a pretty lush forest."

"Really, eh?"

Ginger nodded and continued eating the rodent.

"General Nyra said your name was Ginger?"

"Um...yes."

"That' a nice name."

"Oh, um...thank you...What's yours?"

"Kludd," the owl beaked, but nary a sound came out.

"What'd you say? Didn't quite get that."

" _KLUDD._ " This time, the name rang out through the entire room. All of the other owls, including Ginger, stared at him. Kludd sank back, embarrassed by his behavior.

"S-sorry...didn't mean to yell..."

Ginger didn't answer to his apology and ate what was left of her rodent in one gulp. Looking at Kludd, she saw him slowly scooch a foot away from her.

Man, this is one odd owl. I hope none of the other trainees are going to act weird like this.

Her thoughts were cut off by a loud shree outside. It was Nyra.

"Attention Trainees! Meet me by the target field A.S.A.P! Move, move, move!"

Vaygar, Phillip, Uklah and Kludd rushed out of the hollow with spread wings. Startled and unprepared for the order, Ginger staggered far behind them as they flew.


	6. Chapter 5: Training and Turmoils

"Ready for training, Ma'am!" Vaygar announced as the young Tytos stood before her. Ginger had quite unfortunately found herself standing next to Kludd.

"Young soldiers, it's about time we began our daily training, now that you and the new recruit have met each other. Be warned: this young owl possesses particular skill in flight despite her young age. Hagsmire, she's younger than all of you and she knows how to do a barrel roll."

"She is?" Phillip asked. Nyra sighed in response. She didn't want to embarrass Ginger.

"Everyone, announce you ages."

"Thirteen," Vaygar answered.

"Same as Vaygar," Phillip chimed in.

"Twelve," Uklah continued.

"Fourteen." Kludd's response was the quietest.

Ginger sighed. "Eleven..."

"See? Now I know you owls well, and I don't believe I'll be hearing any out of you, but I'm going to say it now and I'm, going to say it once: I don't want any teasing or fighting with this young owl, understood?"

"Yes, General Ma'am!"

"Good. Head to the target area first...You know what to do, so while I'm out tending to my duties, I want one of you to demonstrate to Ginger how we do things around here, alright?"

"Understood!"

"I trust you young'uns to do the best."

Nyra lifted off into the sky and disappeared over the walls of the training grounds. The young warriors headed to the target range by foot. Once they reached the area, Uklah stepped up to Ginger and explained what they were supposed to do.

"Okay, Ging', you see those ring targets right in front of us?"

"Who couldn't?"

"Well, what you need to do is pounce on 'em."

"Why?"

"It strengthens legs and claws. You have to keep your legs straight while striking, though. The sturdier the claws and legs, the stronger the blow."

"Alright..."

The other four owls bashed themselves talons first into the targets, aiming as closely as they could at the center. The targets were organized in columns of four, one behind the other in each column. Most of the owls only destroyed the one right in front of them. Ginger on the other hand, Decided to push the limits. She backed up as far away as she was able to away from the front target, ran at it, spread her wings, flapped, shot at the target and only angled her wings forward when she was within a split second of hitting it with her head. She extended her claws, caved in the front target, went through the hole and kicked the second one behind it with just one foot, putting a second hole in it. Upon landing and looking at the target, she saw that she'd left a hole in it that was shaped exactly like her foot. Vaygar, Uklah and Phillip immediately stopped what they were doing, examined the target that Ginger had left the foot imprint in, looked back at the first target she'd demolished, then swamed her.

"That was frinkin' amazing!" Uklah almost yelled. "How did you manage to do that!?"

"I don't know, I just kicked it."

"I've never seen an owl here pull of something like that," Phillip chimed in. "And I've been here since I was five!"

"Really?" Ginger was bewildered by Phillip's comment. "You've been training here since you were that young?"

"Well, no. I mean that I've been living here in the Beaks since I was five. I didn't start training since I was ten. But before I was, I would often come here and watch the other, older trainees do target practice. But I never saw one do what you just did there."

"Ah, I get it."

"You're incredible!" Vaygar exclaimed. "Incredible, I'm telling you!"

Ginger liked the positive attention she was getting for what she thought was plain and ordinary.

 _I could get used to this. But I better not get too cocky. These seem like nice owls, and I want to make friends out of them, not enemies._

When the crowd departed and returned to their stations, Ginger realized that the strange owl, Kludd, hadn't come over to congratulate her like everybody else had. He merely stood idly by his own line of targets, as though he had never noticed the calamity. He wore a solemn and grim expression on his face. Ginger wanted to ask him what in the world was troubling him, but she was very afraid that she would get into a fight with the owl, which was the last thing she wanted to happen.

"Come on, Ginger," Uklah was suddenly at her side again. "I'll show you some more of the ropes around here."

Ginger nodded and began to follow her to another part of the area.

 _These certainly are nice owls to hang out with. I just hope they accept me as much as I'm willing to accept them. Sure, I'm still a bit iffy about that one named Kludd, but I'm sure I'll get along just fine with everyone else._

* * *

...

* * *

"Hey, Ging'," Uklah piped up after a small period of silence between the two owls. "You remember when I said I was going to 'show you the ropes," right?"

"Yeah, of course I do. You only said it about a minute ago."

"Well, I meant that in a more literal way than you might expect."

"What do you mean?"

" _That's_ what I mean."

Uklah pointed with her wing at the part of the training grounds they had entered. In this particular area, there were six long ropes hanging from a miniscule section of roof on the far north corner of the area. The ropes extended all the way to the ceiling, and they didn't appear to be made out of tough, manmade string like the shards of it she'd seen back in her homeland, but they looked to be made out of fur and skin from other animals. Ginger touched them with her talons and found that they were in fact made out of animal hide. It was braided in long strands, and the patches of animal fur were reddish brown in color.

"All you gotta do is climb to the top."

"That's it?" Ginger asked. "Seems simple enough."

"Well, it's not that easy for beginners, despite the fox fur helping to give you a tighter grip. The first time I tried it I could barely get off the ground."

"Hmm...I see." Ginger looked up at the ropes. They looked taller than the tree she'd been raised in.

 _Whoa...Now that I look at them for long enough, this may not be as easy as I thought it would be. Uklah's probably right about this...Well, it's still worth a go, isn't it? Yeah. Even if I don't make it on my first attempt, I'd probably just need practice._

It was then that Ginger saw the other owls approach. They took the ropes in their beaks, then picked up one of their feet, grabbed it with their talons, then picked up the other foot and took hold of the rope, no longer using the ground for support. Ginger did the same, but not quite as smoothly as everyone else had. Still watching the others, she saw them stretch up their heads and place their beaks up higher on the rope, then let go of it with one foot at a time, placing them higher up on the rope as they'd done with their beaks, bringing themselves higher up onto the rope. Ginger tightly grasped the rope with both of her talons, then raised her head, taking her beak off the rope, knowing that she was going to fall off without the extra support...but she didn't. She stayed put. Surprised by her feat, as well as encouraged, she placed it higher on the rope, stretching out her entire body in the process. in order to maintain her firm grip, she bit the rope as though it were her prey, then raised a foot and placed it over the other one before doing the same with the second. She'd taken her first step, and she was determined to take more, despite the first few moments draining quite a bit of her energy due to using it all gripping the rope, and she was certain that her heart rate had gone up due to all the tension. But she had strength left, and she wanted to use it to climb, climb to the very top of what seemed to be a painfully difficult obstacle before, but now appeared to her as nothing but a small bump in her flight path. She repeated the same method, over and over again, her mind focused on nothing but overcoming the obstacle that stood before her and her goal, until she hit her head yet again on the ceiling.

 _Not again._ she grumbled to herself, the pain of hitting her delicate skull slightly more intense than the first time.

She looked down to find the other owls only about halfway up their ropes. Not wanting to show off, she decided to wait until the others reached the top, then pushed herself off the rope and spread her wings, gliding back down to the smooth, stone floor. The others followed her in the same method and crowded her again. Even Kludd stepped a bit closer to her, despite not joining the group.

"Before you guys ask, NO, I was not trying to show off. In fact, my main concern was just getting to the top and nothing else...and then I hit my head on the ceiling."

"Oh, well, that's fine," Phillip seemed calm until continuing his sentence. "BUT THAT WAS STILL REALLY AWESOME WHAT YOU DID."

"You guys really think so?"

"You're certainly more talented on these particular tasks than us," Uklah told her. "I am glad that you're not getting too in over your head, though."

"I'll be honest, I'm actually not that used to getting this much attention."

"Well, that's fine. I mean it's not like you're our leader, or something." Vaygar added. "No...That's a role which _I_ am much more likely to play."

"What?" Uklah said plainly. "Why you?"

"Well, it's obvious that I'm the most qualified to lead the you fellas. I'm the best at navigating, therefore would be the best at keeping the three of us from getting lost."

"There are four of us, Vaygar," Phillip reminded him, unamused.

"Huh? Uklah, Phillip, Kludd over there..." the Grass Owl counted his comrades with his primary feathers. "Who am I forgetting?"

"GINGER." the owls said in unison. Even Kludd answered the question, still wearing an unhappy expression.

"Obviously, you're _not_ qualified to lead us if you don't even know how many owls are in our group," Uklah reprimanded. "If anyone should be leader it's me, because I'm the smartest one."

" _Now_ look who's getting in over their head!" Phillip almost shouted. "I'm the best at tracking things, and I could certainly track enemies better than all of you!"

"Hang on!" Even Kludd joined the arguement. "I'm the oldest!"

The quarreling between the four owls became so loud and intense that Ginger couldn't make out what they were saying. Not wanting to include herself in this seemingly serious fight, she backed away into a soft surface behind her. Startled, she immediately knew it was another owl. She slowly turned around...Nyra. And she didn't look pleased.

"Might I ask what this is about?" she questioned the new recruit.

"In all honesty, Nyra," Ginger responded. "I'm not even sure anymore."


	7. Chapter 6: A Potential Solution

"Alright," Nyra said as she and Ginger confronted the fighting owls. "What's all this about?"

"Vaygar says that he thinks he should be in charge of our group!" Uklah told the General. "I should be leader!"

"You wish!" Phillip screamed in her face.

"Aw, shut your beak, you stupid Sooty!" Kludd almost roared.

The owls once again entered their incomprehensible arguing again.

"You didn't have anything to do with this argument, did you, Ginger?" Nyra questioned.

"I don't think so, Nyra. I'm pretty sure it was Vaygar who started the argument."

"And it's about leading the trainee force, is it?"

"It sounds that way."

"Hmm...Well, I suppose I can't entirely blame them. The force does need someone to lead them. Their young, yet they all have their abilities. I've actually been considering making one of them the head of the group. The only problem is that I'm not really sure how to make a final decision. It's just not as easy as I thought it would turn out to be."

"Well, it's obvious that there's a lot of competition about it," Ginger said as she and Nyra watched the owls fight.

"Yes, young Ginger. There is indeed a lot of compete-THAT'S IT!"

"What's it?"

"A series of competitions! That's how we can resolve this whole leader problem! Doesn't that sound like a good idea, owls?"

Nobody heard her except Ginger. And all of the noise was making it hard for Ginger to hear her, anyway. Nyra scowled at the misbehaving Tyto owls.

" ** _ATTENTION!_** " she shreed. All of the owls stopped their arguing and lined up in front of their white-feathered commander with solemn, embarrassed expressions.

"General Ma'am!" Vaygar chanted. "We await our discipline!"

"That won't be necessary, young owls." Nyra told them. "I actually believe I have a solution to this whole leadership problem."

"What's the solution?" all of the owls asked at once.

"I shall hold a series of contests testing your agility, speed, smarts, strength and talents. Whoever wins the most contests will be the leader of the trainee owl force."

"Huh," Uklah nodded. "That actually sounds like a pretty good idea."

"Indeed it does. Am I right, Ginger?"

"Affirmative."

"And we'll hold the competition here in the training grounds."

"Sounds good," Kludd grumbled.

"Now, I'll get the contests set up. You owls just wait inside."

"Yes, General, Ma'am!" Phillip announced. "Let's go, Tytos!"

The four owls entered the cave hollow in a single file line.

"You too, Ginger," Nyra turned to the younger owl.

"Oh, umm...Yes commander." Giner said as she followed the older trainee owls into the stone hollow.


	8. Chapter 7: The Leader Olympics

"Emerge from your hollow, young soldiers! It's time!"

The four older owls scrambled out of the hollow in an unorganized mess, each one attempting to reach Nyra first once they'd heard the command. Ginger followed slowly behind them, not wanting to get caught up in the fighting. Once the four owls reached their queen, they immediately arranged themselves in a single file line, as though nothing had ever happened between them. Ginger fluttered to the right end of the line, right next to Kludd.

"Now, young owls," Nyra began. "I know there has been quite a bit of fighting between the four of you recently about this whole 'who should be leader' debate. As you all know, I've set up a series of competitions to determine who really should get the spot as leader of the trainee force."

"Seems legit," Uklah commented.

"It is. And just so you all know, Ginger will be competing is these events as well."

"What!?" Vaygar shouted. "But she's only been training here for, like, an hour or two!"

"That may be true, but she is a member of the force, no matter how long she's been here, and it's fair to let her compete."

"Ugh...fine."

"Now follow my instructions, young'uns. The time has come to begin these events and see which of you shall be dominant. Let the Leader Olympics begin!"

* * *

...

* * *

"The first event: Strength. All of you will be striking these targets like before in our actual training sessions, and whoever deals the most damage with force alone wins. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Nyra!" Phillip announced.

"Good. Phillip, you're up."

"Me? Oh..."

 _Glaux darn it. I shouldn't have been the first to speak up. I'm terrible at this activity!_

Knowing that he hadn't a choice but to do it, the Sooty Owl flew at the line of targets and bashed his legs through the first one. Unfortunately, he found himself stuck in the hole he'd made seconds later. Upon pushing himself out, he fell onto the stony ground head first.

"Oh, I stink at this!" he whispered as he sulked to the back of the line of owls.

"Alright, Vaygar, you're next."

"Now, Phillip, watch how _I_ do it," the Grass Owl mocked as he made the same maneuver. He made the hole in the target, but unlike Phillip, he landed on his feet and avoided wedging himself into the hole he'd made with his feet. He returned to the line with a puffed out chest.

"Problem, Phil?"

"Aw, stick it in your gizzard!"

"That's enough. Uklah, come on."

"Here goes nothing!" Uklah flew at her line of targets, but due to her weaker legs, upon hitting it, her entire body jerked forward and smacked into it in an embarrassing position. She slid off and landed feet first on the ground, dumbfounded.

"Wha..I..."

"Did I mention that these targets were made out of a stronger material than the ones you normally use for training?"

"No...No, you didn't."

"Well, now I did. Nice try, Uklah, but you don't really have the best strength."

Uklah sighed and returned to the line.

"Kludd, you're up."

The copper owl fluffed his feathers.

"This here's my time to shine," he said aloud. He flapped his seemingly immense wings from where he stood and shot like a lightning bolt at the target at full force and maximum speed. Ginger looked away, and heard three loud crashing noises.

"Mother of Glaux..." she heard Nyra say. "That's incredible..."

She looked back at the target line. Kludd had went through three out of the five targets in the column. She stared at her fellow trainee, wide-eyed. The owl stepped out of the rubble of the broken targets and looked at Ginger.

"Heh...you think you can top that?"

Ginger remained silent as the owl stood stepped next to her.

"Kludd, never have I seen such raw strength in an owl your age...except for Ginger, maybe, but we've still got more competitions to finish before I determine that. Speaking of which, Ginger, it's your turn!"

Ginger breathed deeply. Although she didn't want to say it, she was desperate to show off to Kludd, who obviously thought that he was all that.

 _That owl really gets on my nerves...I'll show him..._

She tried to pull off the same stunt Kludd had, only she wasn't quite as fast at it, and upon extending her legs, she shut her eyes tightly and crashed through the first two targets. She grabbed the third one in attempt to slow her flight, but she accidentally broke it off the chain while grabbing it in her talons and brought it to the ground with her. She turned her head to see all of the other trainee owls staring at her.

"Oops..."

"Ah, well, nothing to be ashamed of, young one," Nyra told her. "Those chains holding the ring targets are pretty sturdy after all, so I guess I could count that as two and a half targets...I think."

"Oh...Okay."

"Hmph," Kludd sank his head into his feathers.

"Alright, that wraps up Contest #1. Kludd wins, Ginger comes in a close second, Vaygar did pretty well, Phillip needs to work on his landing strategy, and Uklah is just a huge embarrassment to the Tytonic Union."

"Hey!"

"I'm just kidding. But you do need to brush up on strength a bit."

"Meh...alright."

"Okay, owlets, moving on!"

* * *

...

* * *

"Contest Number Two will involve navigation skills. Look up and observe what you see carefully."

The owls had left their hideaway and flew to a nearby plateau that was made entirely out of rock, which Nyra referred to as the Half Spire. The five young Tyto owls looked above to see a black sky that was dotted with perhaps billions of white dots.

"Hey, Ginger," Vaygar asked. "You ever look up at the constellations with your parents?"

"The what?"

"The constellations! You know, the pictures that the stars make in the sky?"

Ginger looked at him with perplexed eyes. She had never even heard the term "constellation."

"Dear me. Well, you see that array of stars up there that almost look gold?" Vaygar pointed with his wing at what he saw. Ginger followed it upward and noticed the stars he was talking about, which did indeed look as though to be golden.

"What about them?"

"That there constellation is know as the Golden Talons. They say they are the very talons of Glaux that reach up and pull down the sun each night, so that we owls can fly freely through the night."

"Whose Glaux?"

"Ah, he is the higher spirit of owls. Since your parents have a different culture from ours, they probably never mentioned him, nor ever hear of him. He is the ancient ancestor of all owls, said to have possessed traits and genes of all owl species in his blood, and he used those genes to create all the owl species we know of today with nothing more than his own abilities."

"Amazing," Ginger whispered. "But how do we know that really happened? Seems awfully farfetch'd."

"Well, if it hadn't happened, we wouldn't be here, would we?"

"Good point."

"And up there, just to the southeast of those talons is the Little Whale. See the whale shape?"

"I've heard of whales from my parents, but I have no idea what they look like."

"Well, they look a bit like giant fish. And by giant, I mean EXTREMELY big. But there really giant mammals that dwell in the sea. If you look closely, you can see a kind of fish shape riiiiiiiight...there."

Again, Ginger followed the Grass Owls pointing wing and saw the shape in the stars. It was about the same size as the Golden Talons.

"Cool."

Vaygar instructed Ginger on many other constellations in the skies above; the Little Raccoon, the Big Raccoon, Granlurg the ancient Sea Serpent, the Blue Dragon, and others, until Nyra got their attention.

"Alright, owlets, that was plenty of time for you to have studies the stars above. Now, it's time I quiz you."

 _Oh, boy._ Ginger said to herself. _I'm probably going to fail this one._

"What lies in between the Sea Serpant and the Golden Talons?"

"The Big Raccoon!" Ginger shouted without even realizing it. The other owls remained silent, although Vaygar seemed as though he were about to say the same thing Ginger had, despite her beating him to it.

"Excellent, young owl. Now, where lies the Blue Dragon?"

"Um..." Ginger attempted to recall the location of the lizard-shaped constellation. "Is it-"

"It's right in between the Little Whale's tail and the Flamingo's wing!"

"Nice one, Vaygar. If only the other owls spent as much time star-gazing as you had back in Shadow Forest."

The other owls grumbled.

"Which star must you follow if you wish to fly North?"

"Oh, that's easy," Vaygar continued. "The Eye of Glaux."

"Alright, owls, final question..."

Ginger prepared herself for embarrassment.

"There are different constellations that appear outside the Owl Kingdoms. Name one of them."

 _Wait a minute,_ Ginger realized. _I think I actually have heard my parents talk about this stuff!_

"The Big Dipper?" Both she and Vaygar answered the question at the same exact time, and both of them were skeptical about their answers.

"Very good, young'uns. I believe that finishes this competition. Vaygar won by a long shot, Ginger is, once again, close behind, and the rest of you...The rest of you wouldn't have a chance finding your way back home if you were too far."

"Hey, Ging'," Vaygar said to the Barn Owl. "That wasn't too shabby."

"I couldn't have done it without the help of a guy who knows his way around the stars."

* * *

...

* * *

"Alright, here's where things get a bit more complicated. In the Tracking Event, I will fly to a random place in the Main Base, leaving behind an extremely scattered trail of clues as to which direction I went in. Whoever find me first wins the competition. Now, everybody turn their heads away for ten seconds."

The five owls obeyed, fearing what Nyra may do if they cheated. Once the ten seconds were up, they immediately turned around and took off in all different directions. Ginger stopped in midair before going too far to reflect on something she'd heard Phillip say earlier.

 _"I'm the best at tracking things, and I could certainly track enemies better than all of you!"_

 _Perhaps if I follow him, I'll get somewhere in this._

Ginger silently snuck up behind the Sooty Owl and watched him as he examined a freshly molted white feather that he'd found on the ground.

"This is Nyra's alright," he whispered, not wanting any of the other owls to hear him and take advantage of it, although Ginger already had.

"She must have gone this way." He flew up toward the exit of the training grounds with Ginger not far behind, completely unaware of her presence. Ginger tried to stay as far from him as possible to avoid being seen, while still trying to keep up with him. She watched as Phillip followed a scattered trail of feathers and continued after him the farther he flew, and it wasn't until he found a freshly yarped pellet that he began to grow suspicious of his surroundings.

"Hmm..." He scanned the area, finding no sign of any of the other trainees close by. Still, he felt an unsettling feeling in his gizzard that told him he was not alone. Ginger had concealed herself behind a rock as soon as she realized that Phillip was on to her, and probably would have been spotted had she been careless. Phillip tried to ignore the nagging sensation and continued following the trail, and Ginger kept behind him, a bit farther away than before to avoid detection. She herself soon caught eye of a white feather on the floor before Phillip and made a dive for it. Unfortunately, she slipped into Phillip's range of sight in doing so.

"Hey! I knew someone was following me!" he squawked as he began to fly after her.

Both owls were flying at an alarmingly fast pace, and Phillip was quickly gaining on Ginger. But, while still following the feathers on the rocky ground, she refused to let this owl beat her. Determination fueled her flight, and she flew faster than she ever thought she could. It was then that she spotted Nyra in the distance, and flew faster yet.

"Oh, no you don't!" Phillip was suddenly flying beside her. "There can only be one first place owl! And that's going to be me!"

Immediately upon saying that, he rammed into her side, unsteadying her flight path. Angered by his rough behavior and itching to get even, she barrel rolled right into him, knocking him clean off balance and sending him hurdling towards the ground. But that didn't stop him. Both Ginger and Phillip were soon flying neck and neck, each trying to outperform the other. But it seemed that Phillip's desire to win was greater than Ginger's, and he landed right in front of his queen just before Ginger did.

"Phillip wins!" Nyra announced. Ginger landed beside Phillip panting heavily.

"My goodness, Ginger," she almost gasped. "You've certainly done quite a toll on yourself, haven't you?"

"I...guess...so..."

"Again, you get second place. How ever did you manage to find me? I doubt your parents ever instructed you on tracking."

"I...just followed...Phillip...most of the way...until...I found a feather...on my own...and...we both...wanted...to win...so...Hey...I...WHERE IS EVERYONE ELSE?"

Extremely fatigued and even a bit delirious, Ginger collapsed into a dead faint.

"Wow," Phillip remarked, also breathing heavily. "Wasn't expecting her...to topple over like that...You don't know where we could get a drink, do you, your Pureness?"

"There is a place I could fetch water...but I best go myself. Your young eyes are not yet trained enough to see the seemingly mind-warping waters there..."

"No," Dread creeped into Phillip's eyes. "You don't mean...The Mirror Lakes?"

"Yes."

The Mirror Lakes in the central part of the Beaks were Phillip's worst nightmare. His beloved father had been murdered there by a fierce Snowy Owl, and when his limp body had fallen into the motionless freshwaters, it barely made a sound or a ripple. They said that the lakes were a beautiful sight, indeed, as the water was still enough to use as a mirror, hence their name, but it also turned owls who looked at their reflections in their surface vain and full of themselves. The only way to be lifted from these dangerous feelings of vanity were to cease looking at the lakes, but that was never as simple as it sounded. When Phillip had witnessed his father fall noiselessly into the lake as the mysterious Snowy Owl flew off with bloodied talons, he became sure that the area was haunted, possessed by some sort of evil scroom. He vowed never to return to that horrible place. Nor did he wish to drink water from it, fearing that even drinking it might have negative effects on him.

"On second thought, your Pureness...Maybe I'll just go fine a trickle of water somewhere around here to dip my beak in. I know there aren't many, but..."

"If you say so. The contests will resume upon my return and everybody's rehydration."

Saying these things, Nyra flew off.

* * *

...

* * *

"Alright, owls, refreshed and ready to continue?"

"Yes, your Pureness," Phillip responded quietly, still shaken by the earlier mention that the water the others had consumed was from the Mirror Lakes.

"Well, them it's high time we continue. The next won't be quite as strenuous on your bodies...although it may give your brains a workout."

"What is it?" Uklah asked the white queen.

"Trivia. Basically, I'm testing your smarts. Are you all prepared? These questions are imperative to know concerning authority over the entire trainee force."

"Understood!" Vaygar announced.

"Then let us begin...What is the largest species of owl and how do you recognize it from a distance?"

"That's easy!" Uklah exclaimed. "The Great Grey Owl, recognizable by its large facial disc and slow flight path."

"Correct. Now, True or False? Pygmy and Elf Owls do not have the soft lining on their flight feathers that make an owl's flight silent."

"True!" Vaygar answered.

"How long does it take for the moon to finish a complete cycle?"

"One month!" Uklah screeched.

"Why is it dangerous to sleep in the light of the full moon?"

"You'll get moonblinked!" Phillip chimed in.

"Why do crows hate owls?"

"Um..." Kludd thought for a moment. "...Because past generations were mean to them?"

"Actually, that was a trick question. Nobody knows why they attack us."

"Oh..."

"But, that answer was actually pretty logical, so I'll count it as correct just for the heck of it.

"Oh, okay..."

"How long ago did Hoole retrieve his Ember?"

"A millennium!" Uklah seemed to know the answers to these seemingly difficult questions right off the bat.

"How many Tyto Albas are in your group?"

"Uh, hold on," Uklah seemed stuck for a moment. "I'm one, Kludd makes-"

"Three!" Ginger knew immediately.

 _I may not be able to read, but at least I can count._

"What is said to happen if an owl recovers from a case of Alba Pox?"

"You have Alba Pox here in the Owl Kingdoms!?" Ginger was a bit startled.

"Yes, Ginger. It used to be very common here before common medical procedures advanced enough to keep the virus's numbers at almost zero. A case hasn't been reported in the Owl Kingdoms in over a century, so it's likely that the virus is long extinct. Why do you ask?"

Ginger remained silent for a moment.

"...I had that disease when I was barely out of the egg."

" **WHAT!?** " the four other trainees screamed as they swiveled their heads around toward her with wide eyes. Even Nyra seemed surprised.

"You survived the life threatening disease when you were just a chick!?" Uklah was shocked almost to the point of fainting.

"Yes." There wasn't an ounce of pride in Ginger's tone of voice. "And, concerning your question, your Pureness, if an owl recovers from Alba Pox, their immune system will mutate and become impenetrable by any other disease."

"That's correct," Nyra told her, still awestruck by the fact that this owl had contracted a disease that had been thought to be extinct for decades, let alone heal from it considering it's particularly high mortality rate.

"Alright, owls, let's continue. This is the final question...All of you should know the answer to it."

The owls prepared themselves.

"...What is the most important thing an owl should know how to do in order to survive independently?"

A million thoughts went through Ginger's head in a sliver of a second. It was very clear to her, and she knew the answer well.

"FLIGHT!"

"Excellent, young owl! If an owl can't fly, they're as good as dead out in the wild without a caregiver. As for your scores, Uklah wins, having answered the most questions, Ginger is second...again...and the rest of you are tied. Half hour break before we continue."

As Nyra left the owls to break, Ginger decided to start a conversation with Uklah.

"So, you having a good time withy these competitions?"

Uklah remained silent, an annoyed scowl on her face.

"Is something bugging you?"

"...Alba Pox...It took my sister, Lila..."

"Oh, man...Sorry about that."

"It's deeper than you think...The day she hatched was the happiest day of my life. I was only five, and had no siblings, although my parents had told me many times about the joys of having one. She was an angel, I tell you, an absolute angel. Almost never misbehaved...And then she got Alba Pox...I still don't know how she got it. Me and my parents were devastated over the fact that she could die. I promised her every day that we'd heal her, make her well. One day, it seemed as though she was starting to recover, and we did all that we could for her that day to help the matter...I stayed right by her side the whole night, and into the morning. I even slept by her side during the day...The next morning..."

Uklah's voice trailed off into oblivion. Ginger wanted to hear the rest of the story, but at the same time, she also thought it would be better if the Barn Owl didn't continue.

"The next morning I checked on her to se if she'd continued to recover..."

There was a long pause.

"...She was gone."

Ginger sighed sympathetically.

"At least she was well behaved, unlike my brother," Ginger tried to comfort her.

"At least you still have a brother," Uklah retorted.

"Sorry about that, Uklah..."

The owl sighed.

"It's not your fault. I just don't like to be reminded about that."

"So...we're cool?"

"Yes...Now, tell me something. What exactly did your brother do to prompt you to leave home?"

"A number of things. First of all, the only thing he ever wanted to play was a game called Knight and Dragon. I was always the dragon, and it tired me out to the point where I really began to hate playing it with him, although I never really said anything to my parents about it. But I'm pretty sure that the time he lied about me trying to fly unsupervised was really the stick that broke the beaver's teeth. I was all but happy after that until I left."

"Man. I'm at least glad I can reflect on my sister's good behavior."

"I'll bet she was better than Felix."

"Yeah...What do you say we take a fly and I'll show you around?"

"Sounds fine to me.

* * *

...

* * *

Half an hour passed. The trainee owls returned to their respected positions where Nyra was waiting.

"Ready for the final test?" the white feathered Barn Owl asked them.

"We are prepared for whatever you give us, General Ma'am!"

"Then let us begin. The final test involves speed."

"This should be easy for me," Vaygar gloated. He was currently known to be the fastest flyer among them.

Nyra stood before an oblong, closed-in racetrack that the owls were supposed to fly in.

"Whoever finishes a lap first wins, and the only rule is that you're not allowed to ram into other owls to gain an advantage. Am I clear?"

"Yes, General Ma'am!" Phillip announced.

"Hurry inside the track and prepare yourselves then."

The five Tyto owls flew through a small opening in the enclosure and landed side by side, though a bit spread out from each other, behind the starting line, each one wanting to claim the victory.

"Ready, owlets?"

The owls spread their wings, prepared for takeoff.

"Three...Two...One... **FLY!** "

The owls shot forward and up with one swift flap and were off. Vaygar, said to have the strongest wings out of all of them, got the beginning advantage. Phillip came up close behind him, but only to be held back by his opponents feathers brushing and tickling his beak and the air current his wings were making. Uklah attempted to fly over him, gaining height, but the first turn unsteadied her flight, and she fell back behind.  
Kludd had performed the first turn quite well, and was quickly gaining on the Grass Owl. Despite him being slightly slower than Vaygar, if he managed to get ahead, his strong flapping would draw him back.

 _Not gonna let that happen!_

Vaygar flapped his wings extremely hard to send a gust of wind blowing at the Barn Owl, which sent him struggling to keep himself aloft.

"Ha, ha! See you la-Wat..."

He looked to his starboard side to see Ginger right beside him.

"How did you-I-Ohhhhhh...YOU!"

"Huh?" Ginger was barely paying attention to him, being so focused on the track.

"We'll see just who wins!" Vaygar shouted to her.

Ginger didn't respond, but simply continued flying, a bit faster than before.

"Oh, no you don't!"

Having completely forgotten what Nyra had said before the race, he rammed into Ginger and sent her spiraling towards the ground.

 _Cheater! He knows that Nyra said no ramming was allowed!_

Still spiraling, Ginger decided she'd pay him back for his crude behavior. She spiraled faster and faster, cutting through the air like a bullet. She was performing a drill corkscrew, a maneuver that only a professional flyer could pull off. She shot just a length ahead of Vaygar before she had to reopen her wings, the finish line just twenty yards away.

 _I'll show him I'm not to be toyed with!_

The three other competitors had falled far behind, awestruck by Ginger's incredible feat. She and Vaygar were neck and neck, flying as hard and as fast as they could. Ginger felt something within her that seemed to fuel her flight strength; adrenaline. She flapped her wings as hard and as fast as she could just before flying over the lap mark. She barely knew what was happening until she landed, Vaygar being right next to her. Neither of them could tell who won the race, it had been so close. Nyra stepped up to them.

"So, who won?" Vaygar asked her. "I won, right?"

Nyra looked at him, annoyed.

"What?"

"I must say, I'm not sure who one. It was so close, it might as well have been a tie between the two of you."

"So...we both win?"

"Although I'm not sure who crossed over the line first, I am quite positive that I specifically said that no ramming into the other racers was allowed."

"...You did?"

"Yes. And such an act results in immediate disqualification."

" _ **WHAT!?** _ I...it...You can't do that!"

"I can, and I did. As for Ginger, however, I have to say that I've never been more impressed by an owl her age. The drill corkscrew is one of the most difficult and dangerous procedures a flyer can make, and she executed it flawlessly, as well as cleverly using your ram as a way of starting it up."

 _This isn't happening...This isn't happening..._

"For her speed and her amazing tactics, I declare Ginger the winner."

" _Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_!"

"Oh, stop being such a chick, Vaygar," Uklah jokingly reprimanded as she walked up to him. "You had your chance...and blew it."

"You're not helping..."

"I'm not trying to," she giggled. In an instant, Phillip and Kludd were standing around him, making jokes with Uklah. Had Vaygar's face feathers been much lighter, the red blush would have shone right through. Completely humiliated, he skittered away from his comrades, his face hidden in his folded wings.

"Just somebody come back and tell me who the leader ends up being. I'm not in the mood!"

"Heh, heh...Vaygar," Nyra churred lightly. "He's an amusing owl...Alright. Time for me to announce the leader of the Trainee Force!"

The four other owls lined up accordingly before their queen.

"I've done the calculations, and have made my final decision based on the places of each competitor in each event. The overall winner of the Leader Olympics is..."

The trainees waited for her response in suspense.

"...Ginger!"


	9. Chapter 8: A Night Come to an End

The other owls burst out laughing...including Ginger herself.

"Good one, Nyra!" Vaygar shouted still hysterical with laughter. "That's a real good one!"

"Yeah!" Ginger cleared her throat in attempt to stop cackling. "Now...who's _actually_ going to be our new leader?"

"Ginger," the white owl replied again, to which the laughter of the young owls silenced.

"Wait..." Uklah was shocked. "You're serious?"

"I'm as serious as I've ever been."

The owls turned their heads towards Ginger, who was staring into space with an empty look on her face.

"We're all screwed," Kludd whispered almost inaudibly.

"I"M the leader of the trainee force?" Ginger asked Nyra again, making sure she heard her correctly.

"Correct."

"WHY?! The only contest I won was the race!"

"That may be so, but I happened to notice that you came in second in all of the other events. Not forth, not fifth, but second in all of the events. This means that you are the most well balanced owl out of all the others, being able to harness all of your soldiers skills, though not as profoundly as them themselves. Plus, being the best flyer, you would certainly excel in battle."

"Okay, now this makes a bit more sense," Uklah commented.

"Indeed it does. Ginger may be young, and she may be new to our ranks, but she has great potential, and I trust in her to put it into great things. Ginger, these owls will be taking your orders from now on. Instruct your force wisely, and try not to get cocky."

"Yes, your Pureness." She was still a bit nervous over the fact that she would be leading the trainee owls from now on.

"It's nearly dawn. Ginger, you remember where your hollow is?"

"You mean the big one I slept in yesterday morning."

"That's the one."

"I believe so."

"All other owls, retire to your own hollows. We're going on an expedition tomorrow night."

"Say what!?" Ginger's four soldiers said all at once. "We're actually going out to fight!?"

"I'll see what I can rustle up for you birds. Now, to your hollows."

"Yes, Madame General!"

They all scattered in different directions out of the training grounds. Ginger fluttered out and towards her own hollow alone. When she reached it and climbed inside, she found that her nest had been lined with thick, white down feathers.

"Now how did these get in here?"

"Ah, the down." Nyra was suddenly beside her inside the stone hollow. "That's Snowy Owl down imported from St. Aggie's."

"Where?"

"St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, over in the St. Aegolius Canyons on the other side of the Owl Kingdoms. That used to be a terrible place where owlets were put to work mining weapons, the names of which I won't mention right now. Since the Great Redemption, however, it's been an actual orphanage for owlets whos parents died or were carried away from home somehow. Some of them leave when they are mature enough, and others stay with us to become soldiers and whatnot. In fact, Uklah was raised there since she was six. One of the Snowy Owls there occasionally sends us down feathers when she hears that we may be getting a new member of the Union."

"Ah, I see."

"That down is fine stuff. Again, sleep heavily, Ginger. Tomorrow, we're going out to 'look for trouble,' if you know what I mean."

"Find stuff that's amiss and fix it?"

"Exactly. I'll leave you now."

Nyra exited the hollow and flew off. Ginger stepped into the nest and bedded down. Nyra was definitely right when she said the down was soft, and it relaxed the nerves that had been tense all day.

 _Man, what a day. First I train, then I socialize, then I train some more, then we have a competition, then the next thing I know, I'm leader of the Trainee Force! I sure hope that tomorrow won't be quite as nerve racking, and I sure Hope that I get used to this new routine!_

Thinking these things, Ginger fell into a deep, heavy slumber.


	10. Chapter 9: A Mob of Crows

The Trainee Owls rose at the break of night and flew out of the Main Pure One Base, which, when the young owls emerged, turned out to be a giant cave inside a particularly massive, hollowed out rock spire. Nyra waited for them outside.

"The time is come for you young owls to start getting used to fighting. and I'm not talking about mauling dummies. I'm talking about fighting actual living adversaries. Am I clear?"

"Yes, General Ma'am!" Ginger announced. Apparently, she would be speaking for her soldiers from now on.

"Follow in my flight path."

The five owls followed Nyra into the air and further into the Kingdom of the Beaks. The land was rocky and barren, save for a few scrub bushes here and there, and the shadows cast by the giant pointed rock peaks in the moonlight would have looked eerie had the sky been cloudier, but it was very clear, and just like the previous night, it was covered in stars, and the spires almost gave them a sense of comfort as they flew. The Trainee Owls flew in an organized triangular formation; Ginger in the front and middle, with Kludd and Vaygar close behind on her sides, and Phillip and Uklah even farther back and further from their leader's sides.

"So, Nyra," ginger piped up. "What kinds of adversaries are we going to be fighting?"

"You'll see shortly. And just in case things go awry, I've called on backup to help you owls get through."

Looking behind them, the Trainees noticed four full grown helmeted Barn Owls following them.

"Are they the backup you're talking about?"

"Yes, Ginger...And here are your opponents."

Without warning, Nyra let out a long, extremely high shree that echoed throughout the area. The owls began hovering midair. Their sensitive ears picked up the sounds of loud, fast, and messy wind beats, followed by the familiar, heart stopping cries of what was definitely a mob of crows coming their way.

"WHAT!? SPRINK!? CROWS!?" Uklah was in a panic.

"Watch your beak, Uklah," Nyra reprimanded as the mob of angry black birds drew nearer. "And ready your talons."

The five younger owls extended their talons and kept a clear eye on the approaching crows. The fully fledged adult soldiers flew lower as not to disrupt the training session, but stayed close enough to fight in case the crows got out of wing. The mob was suddenly upon the group of owls, and they began to fight like mad. Each trainee seemed to have their own strategies. Kludd was locking talons with the nearest bird and throwing it toward the ground, Uklah slashed them near vital areas with her claws, Vaygar confounded them with swift movements, then pounded them with any part of his body, and Phillip used tricky twists and turns to try and throw them off so he could get a clear opening. Ginger, having never battled like this before, was clueless, and only tried to dodge the attacking crows. Nyra noticed Ginger was not fighting.

"Come on, Ginger, fight!"

"How!?" she cried back as she barely avoided a slash to the behind. "I've never done this before!"

"Think of your own battle technique! Use your head and do it!"

Ginger continued to evade the crows' attacks as she tried desperately to think up a way to fight them. She'd seen her comrades battling, but she'd rather think up her own way of fighting rather than copying them. After about a minute, an idea finally popped into her head.

"Hey, stupids!" she called, getting their attention. "You like fighting owls!? Then come and have a piece of me! Or are you to stupid!?"

All of the savage black birds forgot about the other Trainees and ran after the owl who mocked them. The moment they were about to grab her and tear her to pieces, she spun around and grabbed the lead crow in her claws, who was a large raven rather than an average sized crow like the others, sinking her rusty battle claws into its head. She felt feathers, then skin, then flesh, then bone, and once she was sure the ravenous bird was done for, she summersaulted in the air, throwing the dead body of the huge crow toward the ground. The smaller crows were horrified. Their leader had been killed by this small owl. Their fear immediately turned to rage, and they all resumed their chase on Ginger, who easily picked them off one by one with swift, hard blows from her sharp, armored talons, seeing that they were near helpless without anybody to give them orders. Within what seemed to Ginger as only a few seconds, she had cleared the sky of all living crows and watched the remainder of them plummet to the ground, blood flying behind them.

"Wow," Nyra almost breathed as she and the Trainees gilded to the ground. Once they landed, she turned to Ginger.

"That was incredible," she told her. "I certainly made the right decision in making you leader of the Trainee Force."

Ginger tried to contain her pride, but just had to slightly puff out her feathers. The others clapped with their wings, also impressed by the way Ginger fought off the mob.

"Alright, owls. That was quite a fight up there, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Ginger replied. "Yes it was."

"Well, how about I give you owls the rest of the night off? Yesterday night we did the whole Leader Olympics thing, and we fought ourselves some filthy crows tonight, so you all deserve a break from all the action."

"Ah, thank you, General Ma'am," Vaygar panted. "Shall we part?"

"Part we shall. Free Flight."

Nyra flew back to the Main Base, leaving the Trainee Soldiers to gleek about. Vaygar, Uklah and Phillip flew in different directions in search of something to do. Kludd and Ginger stayed put for a moment to catch their breath."

"Hey...Ging'," Kludd spoke up.

Ginger glanced at her soldier skeptically.

"Uh...yeah?"

"I, uh...I just wanted to, uh...you know...apologize...for how I behaved yesterday night."

"...Okay..."

"So, uh...we're cool?"

Ginger liked that Kludd was taking responsibility for his actions and decided that the best decision was to forgive him.

"Yeah...I guess we are."

"Yeah...that's good...So, um...Nyra always gives us the night off on Sundays. You...you wanna hang then?"

"Sounds cool."

"Cool. Well, uh...I'm gonna go ride the air currents with Vaygar. I hear they're gonna be strong tonight. You wanna come?"

"Maybe later. I'm thinking about grabbing some grub from the Base."

"'Kay, Ging'. See you later."

Saying these things, the Barn Owls flew in opposite directions.

 _Heh._ Ginger said to herself. _Interesting. I actually kind of want to hang out with him this Sunday. Sounds nice. This isn't-NO! It can't be something like that. I do not have a crush on him...do I? Oh, stop thinking such ridiculous things! If you don't stop thinking about it, it'll actually happen!_


	11. Chapter 10: Shock, Truth and Mystery

When Ginger returned to the Main Base, she saw Nyra standing in the middle of the Main Hall talking to a large black and white owl with thick feathers.

"Good evening, your Pureness," she greeted cordially.

"Ah, Ginger! You remember me mentioning the Snowy Owl Finny the other night, right?"

"Yes."

"This is her."

She turned and looked at the Snowy Owl.

"Ah, you must be Ginger!" she exclaimed with a cheerful hoot. "Nyra was just talking to me about you and how you took down that crow horde. I must say, you're becoming rather well known around here as of late."

"I am?"

"Indeed. Oh, now I hope you don't mind, we have a few rescue owls coming in here with an owlet they found floundering in the waters of the Atlantic, if you could just move aside so they can land."

"Ha!" Ginger exclaimed as she fluttered to the right. "What a coincidence! That's where I was found!"

"Really? Interesting."

"Isn't it, though?"

"Yes. Oh, here they are, now! Excuse me for just a moment, Ginger."

"Aunt Finny," one of the helmeted Barn Owls said to her as he and his partner placed down a wooden basket lined with down feathers. "This is the owlet we found struggling to stay afloat in the Atlantic Ocean. He's been tended and dried, and has no signs of injury, but we decided to bring him to you just to make sure."

"Good, boys, let's see him."

Ginger watched curiously as the Snowy Owl lifted the owlet out of the nest and onto the stony ground. Her gizzard turned to stone at what she saw. The owlet was none other than her brother, Felix!

" _ **FELIX!?**_ " she squawked, to which her younger brother immediately turned his head and noticed her.

" _ **GINGER!?**_ "

He ran past the other owls and clung to his sister's stomach.

"I knew I'd find you! I just knew it!"

Dismayed and horrified at seeing her brother, she shoved him off of her.

" **How the** ** _SPRINK_** **did you find me here!?** " she swore, unaware the it was the worst curse word in the owl dictionary, having only heard it in a sentence once, and deciding to use it herself.

"The night before last, we saw that you were gone, and Mom and Dad went out looking for you, and I decided to stand out of the branch while they were gone, and it was storming, and a HUGE gust of wind blew me away and it carried me all the way to the ocean, and I fell in and got rescued, and now I'm here, and so are you! And we can go home and-"

" **YOU'RE the reason I left in the first place!** " Ginger screamed, still outraged. "And you think I'm going to go back home!? I've found life here, excitement her, friends here, even! I'm not going back! I'm NEVER going back! And if it wasn't for your stupid climbing-out onto-the-branch habit, I may not even have left home!"

That's where Ginger stopped.

"...I may have not found the Pure Ones...I may have not made all of these friends, or...Huh..." Her tone was soft now. "I guess I should thank you."

"Well, you're welcome!" He was still the same owl she had grown up with back in Georgia, much to her disgust.

"So, Ginger, where you stayin'? Wanna bunk?"

"Hagsmire no! Go stay in the Canyonlands!"

"Why there?"

Ginger hid her face in her port wing, utterly unamused by her brother's stupidity.

"Be-CAUSE, that's where the orphanage is!"

"But I'm not an orphan. Orphan means your parents are dead. And ours' aren't, you know."

"It's not just for those classified as orphans, Felix. It's also for those who have simply been separated from their families."

"Are there other owlets there my age?"

"Of course there are, dearie," Finny responded. "You should have no trouble making any friends."

"Well, in that case, I'm all in! Guys, can we go back?" he asked, turning to the older owls.

"But of course, dear," Finny said to him again. "Do you think you'd like to be a member of the Tytonic Union someday?"

"The huh?"

"I'll explain on the ride back. Hop on back in, Felix."

Without further ado, the owlet jumped back into the basket he'd been transported with and Finny and the two Barn Owls took to the skies above.

"Glad that's over," Ginger remarked.

"Ah, so that was the little owl who drove you to the brink of insanity," Nyra teased. "Looks like he'll be a bit of a handful for the pit guardians."

"Well, that's great," Ginger sighed. "What's next? He'll drive all of them out of their minds as well?"

"Oh, I doubt that. If the pit guardians are good at anything, it's maintaining patience. They deal with owlets all the time, and I'm sure at least one of them has had to deal with an owl like him once."

"Yeah...I hope so."

"So, Ginger," Nyra swiveled her back head towards the leader of the Trainee Force. "The other trainees are going out to ride the thermals. Care to join them?"

"Actually, I'm kinda tired. I think I'll try finding some sort of meal, then take it easy the rest of the night."

"If you say so, Ginger. Come to me if you need anything. I'll be with your soldiers."

Nyra spread her red painted wings and shot out of the Main Base, leaving Ginger behind.

* * *

...

* * *

Ginger returned to her stone hollow after what seemed like forever. She'd never hunted her own food before, so even though finding a vole was easy, it was very difficult getting close enough for a successful kill. Eventually, however, she managed to snag it and slip it down her throat. Full and exhausted, she climbed into her nest, fluffed her feathers among the twigs and down and began to nightdream about the amazing adventures that lay ahead in her life as a Pure One.

 _What a life I have now. I never expected beyond my wildest dreams that I would grow to become a warrior! I wonder why I was skeptical about this at first. This is amazing!...I wonder what Mom and Dad would think of it?...What if they wouldn't approve?_

Ginger vowed then and there to never return home for the rest of her youth. It would cost her her life as a soldier, which she was coming to love, and she'd possibly even get walloped by her father's hard wing for leaving in the first place.

 _Perhaps, though,_ she thought. _I could maybe pay them a visit when I am grown up, just to assure them that I'm still alive and well. Besides, they wouldn't be able to tell me what to do then!_

But it was then that her mind came up with an unfortunate, but wildly unlikely scenario.

 _What if they find me here somehow?_

She shook her head violently, almost as though to shake the thought clean out of her head and let it tumble out of her earslits.

 _No, no, that's impossible. They wouldn't ever think to find me here. They don't even know this place exists! I'm all the way on the other side of the earth. Unless they get here the same way Felix and I did, I'm sure they'll never come here. Besides, why would they want to be anywhere near the ocean, anyway?...Hm...Felix and I were their only children...Are they lonely without us? Do they think we're dead? I'm sure it won't last. Owls have many broods of chicks throughout their lifetime. Oh, stop worrying about it Ginger. You're perfectly safe here! Nothing is going to take you away from your destiny!...Yes...My destiny...My destiny as a soldier...as a hero._

Secure and comfortable in her warm nest, Ginger fell asleep almost before she stopped thinking.


	12. About the Characters

**GINGER** : Barn Owl, _Tyto Alba_ , First born daughter of mates Ethan and Nutmeg, raised in a spruce tree near Chatham, Georgia. Left home at a very young age due to boredom and being constantly annoyed by her brother Felix, found and rescued by members of the Tytonic Union of Pure Ones, now among their ranks.

 **ETHAN** : Barn Owl, _Tyto Alba_ , Ginger and Felix's father, husband of Nutmeg.

 **NUTMEG** : Barn Owl, _Tyto Alba_ , Ginger and Felix's mother, wife of Ethan.

 **FELIX** : Barn Owl, _Tyto Alba_ , Ginger's five-year-old brother, fledgling, constantly annoyed Ginger to the point of her leaving, found and rescued by members of the Tytonic Union, now living at St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls in the St. Aegolius Canyons.

* * *

THE PURE ONES

* * *

 **JATT** : Long-Eared Owl, _Asio Otus_ , Pure One and St. Aggies patrol, cousin of Jutt.

 **JUTT** : Long-Eared Owl, _Asio Otus_ , Pure One and St. Aggies patrol, cousin of Jatt.

 **NYRA** : Barn Owl, _Tyto Alba_ , Queen of the Tytonic Union of Pure Ones, mate of the High Tyto, commander of the Trainee Owls.

 **METAL BEAK** : Greater Sooty Owl, _Tyto Tenebricosa_ , High Tyto, founder, leader and king of the Tytonic Union of Pure Ones, Nyra's mate.

 **VAYGAR** : Grass Owl, _Tyto Capensis_ , member of the Trainee Owls, best navigator of the five.

 **PHILLIP** : Greater Sooty Owl, _Tyto Tenebricosa_ , member of the Trainee Owls, best tracker of the five.

 **UKLAH** : Barn Owl, _Tyto Alba_ , member of the Trainee Owls, smartest of the five.

 **KLUDD** : Barn Owl, _Tyto Alba_ , member of the Trainee Owls, best fighter of the five.

 **VALDIMORE** : Eurasian Eagle Owl, _Bubo Bubo_ , slipgizzle of the Tytonic Union who helps Ginger leak information from Ga'Hoole to the Pure Ones, now leader of the Slipgizzle Chaw.

* * *

THE GUARDIANS OF GA'HOOLE

* * *

 **BORON** : Snowy Owl, _Bubo Scandiacus_ , King of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, greatest threat to the Tytonic Union.

 **BARRAN** : Snowy Owl, _Bubo Scandiacus_ , Queen of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Boron's mate.

 **SOREN** : Barn Owl, _Tyto Alba_ , leader of the Band, Kludd's younger brother.

 **GYLFIE** : Elf Owl, _Micrathene Whitneyi_ , navigator of the Band, Soren's best friend.

 **DIGGER** : Burrowing Owl, _Speotyto Cunicularious_ , tracker of the Band.

 **TWILIGHT** : Great Grey Owl, _Strix Nebulosa_ , warrior of the Band.

 **ALLOMERE** : Great Grey Owl, _Strix Nebulosa_ , leader of the Search-and-Rescue Chaw at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, secretly a slipgizzle of the Tytonic Union that leads his Guardian Chaw to their fate.

 **VALDIMORE** : Eurasian Eagle Owl, _Bubo Bubo_ , slipgizzle of the Tytonic Union who helps Ginger leak information from Ga'Hoole to the Pure Ones, now leader of the Slipgizzle Chaw.


	13. Preview Page

Keep your eyes peeled for the next issue!

 _Ginger vs. The Guardians._

Having been a member of the Pure Ones for quite some time, Queen Nyra decides that it is time for Ginger's  
first real mission as a soldier. Finding that she has the potential to be a good slipgizzle, she sends her to the  
roosting place of their greatest known enemies: the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, home of the turned evil Guardians  
of Ga'Hoole. During her visit as a fake ally of the Guardians, she slowly leaks the adversary's plans to lay an  
attack upon the Beaks to a fellow spy. But when suspicions rise about Ginger's actions at Ga'Hoole, will she  
be able to escape and warn the Pure Ones of the enemy's plans to destroy them all?


End file.
